


Unsportsmanlike

by RakishAngle (afterdinnerminx)



Series: You Always Surprise Me, Don't Ever Stop [1]
Category: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-18
Updated: 2015-08-22
Packaged: 2018-04-15 07:52:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4598775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afterdinnerminx/pseuds/RakishAngle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometime between S03E07 and the season finale.  Phryne asked Jack about his time with Angela Lawson.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Unsportsmanlike

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SPOILER ALERT: S03 E07. Don't read if you don't know what has happened.

"Jack?"

"Yes, Miss Fisher"

"How ... exactly ...did Angela Lombard obtain your assistance in removing her dress?"

"Well, she did provide some very good whiskey."

"Better than this, Jack?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that. In fact, this one is much more refined."

"Really?"

"Really."

"What else did she do?"

"Ah. Well, she admitted to being rather unsportsmanlike."

"Unsportsmanlike? How so?"

"She paid your favorite photographer Mr. Burn to take some compromising photos in order to blackmail Constance. You remember, Miss Fisher"

"I don't. I wasn't there, Jack. I'll just have to take your word for it."

"Yes, well I believe you do remember Mr. Burn. I believe that you were also the recipient of some compromising photographs, weren't you?"

"Just the film. It may or may not have been developed." Phryne met Jack's eyes. "And, don't change the subject."

"I didn't think I was. What else did you want to know?"

"So, Angela Lombard gives you a little whiskey and owns up to a little wrong doing and that's all it takes for you to help her undress?"

"I hope you aren't implying that you have ever - even once - admitted to me of your involvement in wrong doing of any sort. I would have remembered that."

"Well, I'm always honest with you, Jack. That should count for something."

"Not the same, I'm afraid."

"So, when EXACTLY have I been unsportsmanlike? Is there something that you think I should be admitting to?"

"Hm. Well, you did steal my breakfast this morning."

"How is that unsportsmanlike? One of us had to get to it first. I was just a little faster."

"Leaving me hungry is very unsportsmanlike."

"Oh."

"And, I do believe that you indulged in my secret stash of biscuits without asking my permission."

"That shouldn't count. I didn't find those. They were already out when I came to visit and it would have been rude to say no."

Jack couldn't hide his smirk. 

"Perhaps, Miss Fisher, it would be more appropriate if you came clean about something you did without my having to prompt you. There must be something."

"Yes, there might be."

"Go on."

"Well, when Mrs. Lombard mentioned this particular service you performed for her, I might have concocted a small fib about something you've may have done for me."

Jack swallowed then inhaled slowly.

"And what did you say to her?"

"I may have led her to believe that while your hands were very talented, you were even better at taking a dress off with your teeth."

"You said that, did you?"

"I did."

"So you are admitting that you behaved shamefully."

"I'm not sure I would call it shameful, Jack."

"Lying isn't shameful?"

"Well, not if it *could* happen"

"And, why do think this *could* happen?"

"Actually, I think it is only fair that this *should* happen, Jack"

"Why is that?"

"Well, I did give you whiskey, did I not?"

"Yes, you did."

"In fact, I believe I have shared my whiskey with you many times."

"Yes, you have."

"And I have owned up to a being ... on the very rare occasion ... somewhat unsportsmanlike."

"She did to something else that I may have neglected to mention."

"What's that?"

"She pointed out the fastening of her dress that needed undoing."

"She did that?"

"She did."

Phryne stood up and walked to Jack, who was sitting upright on the chaise. She bumped his right knee over and took another step in to be able to stand close to him.

"So, if I showed you this hook and eye just under my arm, here."

Jack dropped his eyes from meeting hers to the fastening at the side of her chest. Then he raised his eyes to make eye contact once more.

"And this zipper right below that..."

Jack sat on the edge of the chaise. He put one hand on Phryne's lower belly and the other on the base of her spine.

He opened his mouth and put his teeth on either side of the zipper. He gently pulled at the fabric and used his lips to make the seam buckle out. He slid his lower jaw forward while keeping the friction on her dress and pushed the back part of the seam with his tongue. The top of the seam popped open a small amount exposing the head of the zipper.

Then he used his tongue to lift the zipper pull firmly into his mouth and started to move downward. He slid to his knees to keep the zip opening to her waist, then past her waist and to her hip where it stopped.

Jack slowly got to his feet, leaving his hands on her belly and the small of her back while maintaining eye contact. 

"There you go, Miss Fisher. Do you feel vindicated?"

Phryne's lips were parted and she was breathing heavy. 

"You did do that very, very well, Jack. But, no. I don't feel particularly vindicated. It is only half a job done, after all. And, quite frankly, I don't know how to compare THAT to you using your hands."

Jack stepped behind Phryne. He slipped a little finger from each of his hands under her right and left dress strap respectively and pulled them over her shoulders, where they became limp.

He slipped his right hand through the opening at the zip and over her belly to feel the silk camiknicker lingerie she was wearing underneath. As his hand moved further into the dress, the further the dress moved down her body. When it reached her hips, Jack was standing in front of Phryne. He gently bunched the dress in each hand to slide it over her hips, past her thighs and midway down her calves so that she could step out of it.

He stood up and taking the dress by the straps once again held it up so that it would drape nicely over the chair.

"Are you happy now, Miss Fisher?"

Her eyes were very dark and it was painfully clear that she was not ready for this to be over.

"After all, I have righted your tall tale."

"Yes, you did."

They stood there for some moments looking deeply into each other's eyes.

"But, perhaps, I haven't done all you had hoped for."

"No, you haven't."

Jack just needed one small reason to take that next step.

"And Jack, I believe you did imply that leaving me hungry would be very unsportsmanlike."

He broke into a full smile.

"Yes, I believe I did. And I am anything but unsportsmanlike"


	2. The Hunger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack and Phryne being...well, Jack and Phryne. With one or two items of clothing removed and more to come (in later chapters, of course)

Jack is sitting on a chair in Phryne's upstairs private parlour. She is sitting by the fireplace with her legs tucked underneath her. He has taken off his shoes, socks and cuff links. His jacket is somewhere by the door. He is watching her tend to the fire that was almost dying.

The light coming off the fire makes her cami almost transparent. He can see the curve of her breasts and swell of her nipples. She looks so relaxed. Radiant.

He saw this coming, of course but he didn't know how it would happen or how he would feel. He thought he'd be petrified. What he actually feels is certain. Of himself. Of her. 

The fire wasn't cooperating with her the way she wanted it to. Jack thought about helping but enjoyed watching her more. She got on all fours to poke at it with a little more vigor before adding more paper and another log. The flames licked at the bark and continued to grow taller. 

When Jack saw that the fire was successfully rekindled, he padded over to her. Her backside was pointed to him. He didn't think she was adopting this pose on purpose (for a change!) but he couldn't be sure. She was still in that lovely lingerie from downstairs. She had taken off her shoes but not her stockings, which had a seam running up the back of each leg and a little bow where each attached to her garter belt.

He got on his knees behind her and used his whole hand to slide over the impression her sex made under the silk. He felt her arch back into him with a soft sigh. He used his index finger to draw light but large circles. The silk surprisingly cool and, perhaps, less surprisingly, sopping wet. He slipped his finger under the fabric and explored her topography. He could feel her shaking. He could feel her trying not to shake.

He pulled his hand out of her clothing and brought it to the crease in her hip. Then he used his other arm to guide her torso upright so that she could lean back against his chest. He reinserted his finger back under the cloth and into her. Then he added another and found a pitch that felt good to them both. She gave him her neck so that he could scatter the softest of kisses along her skin. God, she is so soft. He felt her shiver. 

He used his other hand to caress her hip, trace her navel and find her breast. He ran the length of his middle finger over her soft nipple. He could feel it responding as he did so. Then he used his palm to ghost larger circles over has she got harder before giving a soft squeeze between his thumb and forefinger. 

"Jack"

"hm?"

"Jack"

He felt a soft chuckle come out of him. "Yes, Phryne"

"Don't stop"

"No. I won't"

He curled the fingers that were inside of her and felt her gasp. He pulled his fingers almost completely out of her and quickly thrust them back in. All the while he moved his kisses from the side of her neck to the back of her neck. Then between her shoulder blades and all over her shoulders.

He could do this forever. Jack felt Phryne's hips buckle little. Then, she recovered. He started moving his fingers faster.

"Yes, Jack."

He pulled her closer with his arm and splayed his hand firmly over her other breast. She was close. He could feel it. He flicked his tongue over the lobe of her ear then captured it between his lips. He opened his mouth and brushed his tongue down her neck. Hard. He could feel her losing control over her hips as they pulsed back into him faster and faster. He felt her core tighten around his fingers. Phryne released her head back onto his shoulder and cried out. Her entire body shook in waves and Jack held her tight, staying with her as she rode this feeling.

Then she relaxed back into him and closed her eyes.

"Jack"

He chuckled again. "Yes, Phryne"

She turned around to face him. They were chest to chest and both on their knees. Her eyes were devouring him and she leaned up for a kiss.

He leaned back to avoid her.

"What?" Phryne looked puzzled.

"You can't have my lips."

Her jaw dropped. "Oh, really..."

"Yes, really."

"And why is that?"

"These lips are precious, you see."

"You have just demonstrated that to me very clearly."

"I am glad you noticed. The case remains. You won't get them yet."

"I won't?"

"No. You won't"

"I think I could treat them very well, Jack."

"I believe that. But it isn't enough."

"Hm. What's enough?"

"Well, you see. These lips can only be kissed by a woman who desires one man and will be with only one man."

"Is that so?"

"It is."

"So, I am to forsake all others?"

"When you are ready."

She leaned her face in close to his.

"And what if I manage sneak one in?"

"You won't."

"How is that then?"

"Because you need a way to tell me and I need a way to know"

"Oh?"

"Oh."

"So what do I get for honoring such an agreement?"

"Everything else."

"Everything?"

"Else"

Phryne slid her hands up to feel Jack's chest. She looked to his lips in deep concentration. He'd not seen her look unsure of herself before now.

Jack moved his hands around her back and nudged her nose with his own. His eyes crinkled as he gave her a lazy smile.

"How do you know you can trust me?"

"Oh, I can trust you. Implicitly."

"I might try to get away with it, you know."

"You won't."

She glared petulantly. He chuckled.

"Okay then, Miss Fisher. Give it your best shot then. You know the terms. See if you can kiss me, then."

He licked his lips and let them rest naturally in a smirk.

She looked up at his eyes through her eye lashes as if this was no kind of challenge at all. She reached her arms around his neck and pulled her body closer to him.

She inched closer to his face. She felt his breath caress her lips. She tried to get closer but he was right. She wouldn't.

"No, Jack. I won't."

"I know"

Jack saw her tear up as she bent her head away and into his chest.

"I won't push you away, Phryne. The choice is really yours. It is the only way I can do this."

He felt her nod.  
"You know I'm not done with you yet, Miss Fisher."

He brought his hand into her hair and felt the strands wrap around his fingers. He gently pulled her head back and traced his lips across her forehead. Gave her small kisses around her temple, down her cheek and brushed his lips to the cusp of her ear.

She turned her head and looked up at him thoughtfully. She was reeling. And he could see it. She wanted to scream. Explode. Cry. But he was right here. He wasn't going anywhere. And he was ready to give her all she wanted. Almost.

She saw him swallow but his hands held strong.

"So, if you aren't done with me..." she put an effort into a half-smile "then, what is it you are planning to do to me?"

They both let go of a breath they didn't realize they were holding back.

"I thought you'd never ask."


	3. Getting Warmer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phryne re-ignites a dying fire in her parlour.
> 
> (Phryne's description of her name comes from Kerry Greenwood's book Cocaine Blues) Her invention...I'm just playing with it.

Phryne, the courtesan. 

She plays it well, he thinks. Spirited, certainly. Wealth amassed in ill-gotten ways? He wouldn't know. Jack lowers his head to nibble at her shoulder.

"Who named you Phryne?"

He rubs a thumb back and forth over her nipple. Then he wraps his finger round it and gives it a gentle pull as he nudges the strap of her camiknickers off one shoulder.

"My father."

Jack removes the other strap and watches as the silk that had covered her chest fall to her waist. His mind goes to her namesake but his attention remains on the woman in front of him. The former was guilty as sin and most famously known for her trial. Legend has it that her court counsel was one of her lovers. 

"Another old friend", Jack thinks mischievously.

The verdict looked to be unfavorable and her lover resorted to extreme measures. Phryne's gown was ripped away to expose her glorious breasts to the jury. Whether they were full of pity or longing, she was acquitted. Jack would never want to see his Phryne in that situation. Yet, it occurred to him should her defense require the same strategy, history would repeat itself.

"Seems an odd name for a baby girl."

Phryne reached up to unwrap and pull away Jack's tie.

"It was supposed to be Psyche."

She slid her hands down his waistcoat as she was unbuttoning him.

"Also suits you. A singing...dancing....amorous....vexing nymph." His hands slid down her back, over her ass then continued down to let his fingertips flutter over the folds of her cunt from behind her. 

Phryne caught her breath and pulled her eyes up to meet Jack's once again.

"I have a thing against nymphs, you know?"

Phryne slides her hands under his waistcoat and pushed it back so that it fell his shoulders.

"Tell me"

Jack feels his shirt tails being coaxed out of his trousers. He gives Phryne room to continue unbuttoning him.

"The night before my christening, my father was out quite late at his club. Unfortunately, he was the one they called to name me. He scrounged though his knowledge of classical names and grabbed the wrong one."

She runs her fingernails over his chest, to his waist and around to his back. Jack inhales quickly.

"Surely, that isn't the fault of the nymph."

"No, it is the fault of my father."

"Well, let's not speak further of your father, then. I have no need to be thinking of him when I do this."

Jack ran the full width of his tongue over Phryne's nipple.

"Or when I do this"

He wrapped his hands down the back of her thighs, between her legs and lifted him onto his lap. He nuzzled into her breast...nipping, mouthing, sucking.

Phryne let her fingers brush under Jack's shirt across his back. Oh, he feels good. All of a sudden she wants her mouth on him. She flexes her toes and pushes them back into the ground and rolls her hips forward to tip him backwards and presses his shoulders to the floor.

"Well, hello Miss Fisher" he looked up at her with smiling eyes. He looks happy but altogether too calm for her liking.

"Detective Inspector." She leaned over and brushed her nipples across his chest. She pressed harder against his shoulders and she shimmied back over his hips to straddle his thighs.

"Don't move." Her eyes flashed at him.

She angled her fingers into his waistband and prepared to undo his top button. She met his eyes and raised an eyebrow.

"No, I've got a better idea."

She bent her head down and caught the edge of the button with her lower lip. She moved her teeth over his waistband and pressed her tongue to the other edge of the button. She pressed her tongue into the back of her top teeth, gave her jaw a small jerk and felt the button slide through the hole.

She raised her head and pierced Jack with a look.

"How. Satisfying." 

"Well done, Miss Fisher. That is quite an accomplishment. Are you planning on finishing that job?"

"I think you know me quite well." 

She lowered her head again to repeat the task to the next button. Jack felt the whisper of her hair across his belly. He let his head roll back and surrendered to this moment.

He thinks he does know her well. He likes the idea of her as Psyche. His nymph. 

"She had butterfly wings" he thinks to himself as he feels her eyelashes flutter over his pelvis.

He thinks, too, about other meanings of that name. Nymph to nympha...the chrysalis. Oh, she looks like a butterfly - fully formed and dazzling. But he knows her to be in a stage of pupae, protected by the hard shell of her own making. Impossible woman. Leave it to her to bend the rules of time and space by being both things at once.

He looks up and wants to run his fingers through her hair.

"Stop!" She caught him.

Phryne stretches her hands back onto his shoulders, pivots forward on her hips and looks into his eyes from straight over him.

"Don't. Move. A. Muscle." 

Jack drops his head back. He feels a slow burn in his chest and a hotter one below. All of a sudden, he knows what she is going to do.

He wants it.

He's never had this before.

She returns to a squat over his hips, took one of the strings from his underpants into her teeth and pulled it until it popped free. Without dropping the string from her mouth, she takes the other string, untangles it from its loop and frees it from its sibling. She releases her jaw to let the string drop and hooks her fingers over the sides of his waistband.

He starts to lift his hips to help her.

"Aaah! I said don't"

He drops his hips toward the floor. His chest rises and falls more quickly.

She pulls his trousers and underpants under his buttocks hard. The rough tweed of his pants scraped against his skin, leaving him feeling more tender than he would have expected.

His eyelids flutter. 

Thankfully she's more gentle with the front half.

His trousers are lifted down and away from his body. He is covered only at his arms by his open shirt. She slides her flat hands from the base of his cock to the sides so that she is holding him almost completely along his length. Her tongue swirls over the tip of him.

His air whooshes out of him.

She nibbles around the edge of the head. She snaps her lips up and away in the teeniest of bites. Her lips press down and around the top of his cock and he feels the warmth of her mouth.

"Oh, god."

"Nothing to do with this, Jack."

He looks up at her and sees her chest moving heavier as well.

She runs her tongue from the base of his cock, along the shaft and over the tip, where she slows to move her tongue is contracting circles.

He recalls reading something about the nature of the emerging butterfly. The protective shell of the chrysalis has to be softened from the inside before it is scratched open by using claws on its forewings. Once free, it must strengthen its wings before it flies. 

Scientists, so he's heard, have done some experiments with trying to help a butterfly out of its shell. At the time, it feels so compelling. Knowing there is a beautiful animal enclosed that wants to get out. To become free. But those that are assisted aren't given the chance to strengthen their bodies and they aren't strong enough to engage with the world. They are crippled from the start and die very quickly.

He thinks this gives him a reason to stay still. So, he doesn't move. He is patience itself. He will observe. This is something he can do for her.

She's blowing cool air over the wet trail she delivered over his shaft. He is going to explode. 

Her mouth slides down around his cock, totally engulfing it. She stays there a moment, getting the feel of all of him in her mouth.

He ponders her again as Psyche, the women who enchanted Eros himself. Victim of her own treachery. So frightened of being married to a monster that she doubted her own love and ultimately caused him to flee. There is a version of this story where she redeems herself. He likes this one the most. 

She sucked his cock as she traveled back to the tip, where she released it with a pop. She gave it another little lick. A nuzzle, A nibble. She descends upon him again. This time faster. Harder. 

Oh. 

Heaven.

If she's the nymph, what is he? He fancies himself solid, like the ground. Armor. A rock. But that's too simple. Rocks don't parch. He is much more like a river bed. Once full, then emptied. Left to dry - warped and heavily cracked.

Then she came. She brought back the river. What was brittle is starting to soften. What was sealed is starting to flow.

She would think of him as a container. A cage. But he knows better. 

The only thing he could possibly do is to hold her gently as she made her own journey. Perhaps he can provide a kind of boundary for her to knock against as she finds her way forward. The very act of attempting this causes him to erode. Just a little at a time at first. The more he falls apart, the more she expands. Chunks of him fall off in small pieces. The pieces are too small for anyone to to take notice but over time, the shape of a landscape is totally transformed. Slowly, he comes apart. They say this is the most powerful force in nature. He believes it. 

She is moving with a slow, deliberate rhythm, consuming then releasing his cock. He feels the pressure building in body. 

She's caused so many pieces of him to fall away: Leaving with Lin Chung after he had recited the quote from Anthony and Cleopatra that made him think of her the most (crack). Trying to hide the sound of a popping cork in a dry household (splash). When she said "and, you can call me Phryne" (kerplunk). When he thought she died.

He's floating now. He can't move even if he wanted to. She has made a ring with her index finger and her thumb in front of her mouth. Each dip of her head is introduced with a knobby constriction that...he wouldn't know how to describe it. But it is good. So good.

She's asking him to give more of himself away. "I want you to come, Jack." 

In her mouth? Oh. She means it. 

I can't. 

Can I?

He feels another piece himself breaking apart. He can't hold back. As always.

He feels his face contort and tries to relax. He doesn't know how to stop fighting it. His chest, his head, his cock...hurt. He clenches. A wave releases from his tailbone up his spine and through the top of his head. He opens his mouth but doesn't recognize the sound coming out of him. She sucks the come out of him more than he releases it.

He's aware of his breath again. He's tingling. His face is numb. A soft animal named Phryne is slinking up his body. She tucks one knee to each side of his stomach. He feels her nipples on his chest and a hand on each side of his head.

She stares at his lips, then his eyes and then gently sets her forehead on top of his.

"Did you like that?"

"Yes."

His eyes flit open. He feels her breath on his lips. Again, he doesn't move.

She runs a finger over his lips. For now, it is her way of kissing him.

Another piece of him - gone.

He nibbles at her finger then sucks on it to pull it into his mouth. She crooks her finger behind the back of his lower teeth. He runs his tongue along her finger then she pulls it out.

He is willing his heart to slow down. He wraps his arms around her waist. His hands glide down to slide off the lingerie that his been wrapped around her hips since they were kneeling together.

"Give me a minute, Jack?"

"Of course."

He's not sure how she was able to get up gracefully. When she finally stood, her camiknickers slid down to her ankles and she stepped out them. She was going to pick them up but he grabbed them first. She smirked and padded into her washroom.

He heard the taps turn on and a bit of splashing. Some quiet. He tried not to listen. He didn't want to intrude. Well, too much, anyway. He stood up and started gathering his things. He really didn't know what was going to happen next.

The taps came on again. Sound of a towel being used. The light turning off and then...Phryne. 

His first time seeing all of her. She's glorious. Her eyes drop to the clothes he is holding in his arms. He sees a flicker of...what, he wonders? 

"I hope that you are just being tidy, Jack. That is the only excuse you have as a first time visitor."

Jack smiled. "Of course. You know me so well. Where can I..."

She took his clothes and draped them over the chair he was sitting on earlier. Then she reached up and slipped her hands over Jack's shoulders to help him out of his shirt.

"That's better."

She took a step closer to him so that her toes were standing on his toes. He wiggled and she popped a grin.

"Phryne."

"Jack."

She saw so many emotions in his face. She didn't know which to connect with. But she liked it here. She liked it now. It felt unclear to her where she ended and he began.

She felt the brush of his knees as they bent and the grip of his hands around her rib cage. Next thing she knew, he'd lifted her up a foot off the ground. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck.

He carried her to the bed and set her down gently. He held her hand out to him. He took it and climbed up to meet her in bed. They lay side by side facing each other, each with an arm under their head and their other arm caressing the other.

Phryne chewed on her bottom lip.

"For your sake, Jack...tell me that tomorrow is your day off." 

"Tomorrow is my day off. Wait." He looked at his watch. "Today is my day off."

"You have nowhere to be?"

"Nope."

"Why do you ask?"

"You aren't going to get much sleep tonight."

"Oh? why is that?"

"Because, Jack Robinson, I'm not done with you yet."


	4. Delicious

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An evening shared between Jack and Phryne continues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, all day I've been thinking about smut. Smutty, smutty, smut-smut. 
> 
> I'm notice that you - and, you know who you are - read and kudos smut more than anything else. I am so grateful for you and your dirty mind. I hope you enjoy as much as I did...am...whatever. You know what I mean.
> 
> The next chapter might (might!) circle back to Canon.
> 
> ****************************************************************************************************************************

"Are you in love with me, Jack?"

Phryne watched him choke on her question. "Did you say that out loud?"

"I almost didn't."

Jack met her eyes and raised an eyebrow. "Serious question."

"Should I not have asked?"

Jack held Phryne's hand and lifted it to his mouth to kiss her knuckle. He looked pensive. "The answer to your question hasn't resolved itself yet."

Then he unfurled her fingertips and gave each one small kisses. "Phryne, what made you ask that?"

"I was thinking about your new rule. It isn't very nice."

He flashed a small smile. "What isn't very nice about it?"

"I want to kiss you desperately."

"I want to kiss you more."

"It feels like something is missing if I can't put my mouth on yours. If I can't taste you. If I can't nibble at your lip or ..."

She saw Jack's eyes crease at the edge. He held her hand at his heart. "Something is missing, Phryne. For me, something is missing. I'm sorry if you feel this is unfair but what you are describing is exactly how I feel."

"You feel so good, Jack but not being able to share this with you...this makes me a little lonely."

"Yes, that's it exactly."

"That's how you feel about me having other lovers?"

She watched him nod his head. "Yes. Exactly." 

She's been outsmarted. Damn. How did he know she'd respond this way? How did he know that this would make her understand?

They were silent for a while.

"Phryne."

She looked back at him.

"Phryne, listen to me. You know I didn't want the same relationship with you that you had with other men. Whether you were reminiscing with old friends or having dalliances or lovers...I don't want that with you. For me, I don't need to know whether or not I'm in love with you to know that - for me - this is an affair of the heart."

She couldn't make her mouth work so she urged her eyes to tell him to go on. 

"I knew you would have had me before but I had chosen to decline. Before tonight, I would have gone home or back to the station. I would have been totally distracted about what you would feel like or how you might respond to me. But, I don't want to go home anymore. It doesn't make me feel any better to have none of you."

He stopped for a moment.

"I'm a better man when I'm with you, Phryne."

"You are?"

"Uh huh. I think so."

Jack nuzzled up to her face and rubbed his nose against hers. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

"If you don't know whether you are in love with me then...well, then...what am I to you?" Phryne could have kicked herself. How could she possibly feel needy when she was being held like this. Actually, it wasn't like her to feel like this ever. 

Jack steamrolled Phryne onto her back. His hands held hers over her head. All of his weight on hers. He sucked on her earlobe.

"Tempestuous!"

He kissed the side of her jaw. She smiled.

"Meddlesome."

He placed a trail of kisses down her neck. She sighed.

"Magnificent."

He sucked on her collarbone. She exhaled.

"Maddening."

He continued his kisses on the path between her pectorals. She reached into his hair.

"Strong."

He brushed his lips under her left breast. She closed her eyes and let him wash over her.

"Inventive."

He skated his tongue across her hardening nipple.

"Vulnerable."

He suckled her breast.

"Feminine."

He suckled again.

"Beautiful."

He traced small circles over her other breast with his finger.

"Captivating."

He gave her a nibble on the outside of her rib cage (who knew that felt so good!?!)

"Generous."

Then a kiss at the side of her waist.

"Alluring."

Kisses over her tummy.

"Charming."

His tongue probed her naval.

"Sophisticated."

Kisses from her naval to the top of her right hip.

"Bullheaded."

Rubbed his lips back and forth across the skin just above her pubic hair.

"Impatient."

He kissed her other hip.

"Imaginative."

He licked the crease of her thigh.

"Daring."

He drug his teeth down the front of her leg.

"Imprudent."

He ran his tongue round the back of her knee.

"Insightful."

He dropped his legs off the bed so that he was standing and rotated Phryne's body so that she was sideways and her hips at the edge of her bed. He brought her ankle to his lips and gave her open mouth kisses from there to the back of her knees.

"Exotic."

He positioned his elbows behind the back of her knees and pulled her up so her legs were on his shoulders and her shoulders still on the bed. He closed his eyes and breathed her in.

"Delicious."

He ran his tongue over her inner lips then closed his mouth and moved his tongue in fat circles. 

"Does that give you some understanding of how I feel about you?"

Phryne looked up at Jack who was happily making out with her cunt. His tongue slid up the length of her slit before palpitating her clit. She threw her head back and groaned. 

"What in the hell did she do to deserve this?" Phryne thought to herself. "Whatever it was, it must have been damn good."

Jack wrapped his lips over his teeth to give pinches to the flaps of her sex. His mouth took her whole again. He alternated between flat wide laps and driving his tongue inside of her. He sucked her juices into his mouth.

A lengthy cry erupted from Phyrne's throat. "Jack! Oh.." She inhaled sharply.

He wrapped his arms tighter around her thighs and pulled her closer to his head. Her cunt was swollen from his sucking on her and lapping at her. She wanted to come so badly and tried to reach up to touch herself. He swatted her hand away and started releasing her hips back down to the bed.

"No. Oh, Jack - don't stop! Please don't stop"

Jack gave a little bite to the instep of her right foot. He looked in her eyes and then down at his cock, which was positioned just perfectly for his next move.

"I normally wouldn't stop but I find this new position so..." His eyebrow arched "convenient."

He kept his hands around Phryne's ankles and pressed some of his weight along the back of her thighs. As he did so, the head of his cock pressed into her and she felt her folds open up for him. He moved back and forth and inch or two at a time to bring the tip of his cock in and out of her. 

"Will this be alright, Phryne?"

"Yes."

"No, I mean - is this safe."

"Yes, yes. I took care of it. Please."

"You aren't begging, Phryne...are you?"

"Huuuuh." She grunted and brought her head up. "I. don't. beg. Jack" 

He didn't move. She growled.

Jack pushed in a little deeper and paused.

"Not. Nice. Jack"

He kissed the inside of her ankle and slowly pulled himself almost completely out of her.

Phryne was breathing hard. She was going to kill him. She was going to fuck his brains out and then she was going to kill him.

"Jack, I swear. If you....if you don't...move...dammit..."

Not only didn't he move, he had the gall to look amused. "You don't appear to be in a good position to threaten me right now, Miss Fisher."

She reach out like she was going to claw at him but she was too far away. If she sat up, she would lose contact with the last part of him. Dammitdammitdammit, Jack.

"JACK!" she said with a grimace.

"You seem a bit agitated, Miss Fisher..."

She tried to squirm against him. She wanted him so badly.

"Miss Fisher" Jack asked calmly (How dare he! How very dare he!) "What is it that you want?"

She felt ...well, there is no better way of saying this...downright rabid.

"I want you to fuck me."

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" He pressed an open hand over each thigh to give himself leverage. 

"Do you want me to fuck you like this?" He slowly and completely plunged into her. She gasped loudly and felt her eyes roll back.

On an inhale, she says "yes?" - not at all sure how that came out as a question.

He eased out slowly and plunged again. Pause. He did it again. Pause. Again.

"Yes. Just like that"

"Again?" 

"Yes! Again - again - again!"

Where the hell did he get the balls to do this? She wondered. She almost laughed out loud when she realized they were slapping against her bottom. She never, ever would have guessed the devil Jack had inside of him. Inside of her? She must be delirious.

"Faster! More!"

"You are so demanding!"

"Please..." She huffed.

"Pretty please..."

She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She looked at him while she was gasping for air. "Jack" she croaked "Pretty, pretty please..." She said this as nicely as possible.

The response was instantaneous.

He gave her everything he had. Hard. Fast. Steady. He pounded into her over and over again. Every thrust made cause her breasts to jerk upwards. Phryne raised her arms above her head and tried to push against the bed so she was a little closer to him.

She felt sweat beading around her lip. A drip from under her breast down the side of her rib case. Her legs shimmering. Her scalp soaked. 

Phryne looked up at Jack. His eyes were now closed. He was holding onto her legs. His hair fallen over his forehead. She saw his upper lip curl up and felt his thrusts becoming more erratic.

"Fuck. Jack. Yes. I'm going to come. Now."

Jack looked straight into her eyes. She was wild. He had never seen anything so breathtaking in his life. 

He felt her come on his cock. It started with her clenching around him. Then he felt a wave of wet flowing over him. His body shook violently. He grunted as he released into her. He pressed into her hard then started to pulse gently as he rode out his own orgasm. He felt her twitch once. Then again, softer. And again, more softly. He dropped his head forward and closed his eyes. 

He loved her. Of course, he loved her. He would never, ever stop. "Phryne, what have you done to me?" he thought. 

He released Phryne's legs to the sides of his hips. She held her hands up to him as she sat up. He took her hands, turned them over and kissed into her palms. Phryne watched him lick his lips. He gathered her up in his arms and held her tight. She could feel his heart pounding into her cheek.

"Come here, Jack" she said softly and pulled him back into bed.

As he crawled up beside her, he recognized that piece of him - as important as a hand or maybe even a heart - had been cleaved away. He imagined that he could see that piece travel down the River Nile. The pieces him that he gives her aren't meant to be cherished or stored away safely. Instead, these pieces are meant to be pulverized. They will be smashed and broken down to the smallest size possible to be carried away and deposited...oh, who knows where?

The Fertile Nile. He thinks of the overflowing riverbanks and the rich, black soil that is left behind whenever the water recedes. That could be pieces of him, he thinks. Maybe that isn't all of him, though. Specks of him might float down the river to join with the Mediterranean Sea. Some will inevitably make its way out to the Atlantic. He can sense these pieces drifting and flowing recklessly into the deep, deep water. 

Once, some time ago, she told him that his heart was a deep as the ocean. This might be true, he thinks. But it would only happen because she carried him there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ********************
> 
> Okay, I know it is supposed to be the PACIFIC Ocean but the story just couldn't cooperate. I am invoking suspension of disbelief here. From now on, it is just an ocean...any one of the 4.


	5. She-Devil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SPOILER ALERT!!! S03 E08 FINALE. Don't read if you haven't watched.
> 
> ************************************************************************************************

"You are a demon, Phryne."

"What makes you say that, Jack?"

She's waking him (again!) with her caresses. She is insatiable. He's on the wrong side of collapsing.

"Hmmm. I can't imagine why. Let me think."

She quipped "Don't think too hard" as she slipped her hand down to give him a squeeze. Then she peered deeply into his eyes "Or, maybe you should!"

He captured her in a bear hug and rolled her on top of him. 

"Listen, my little succubus. You have worn me out."

That earned him a pout, which earned her a grin.

He sat up, wiped his face with his hand and leaned against the headboard.

"Come here"

He grabbed her up into his arms and wrapped his legs around her. 

"I don't want the sun to come up."

"No, I'm not ready either. Nevertheless, I don't think even you can stop it."

"Do you have to go to work? I thought it was your day off."

"You know perfectly well that my day off was yesterday. You took the whole thing, you greedy wench."

"Aargh." affected in her very best pirate girl of Collingwood sort of voice.

He rubbed his foot over hers. He didn't want to let her go. It had been the best night (and day...and night) of his life.

"Phryne?"

His finger traced a line down her forehead, over her nose, between her philtrum, across her lips, down her chin, and then over her throat and chest to her heart. He placed his palm on her chest so he could feel her heart beating.

"Hmmm?"

She leaned her head back and kissed his jaw. She nuzzled against his throat and breathed him in. She is tired, too. And sated. Not that she'd tell him that.

"Is this what you wanted?"

He's examining her closely.

She doesn't know how to answer. Part of her thinks "more than I ever hoped" and another part of her thinks "almost."

"I don't have words." This is true. Ugh, but it is such a bunk. 

She starts again.

"This was incredible. I have never felt anything like this."

She turns her body toward him and crawls into his lap. She reaches up and runs her finger down his cheek. She realizes she doesn't want the sun to come up because she doesn't want the day to start. She doesn't want to see what happens when they take "this" out into the real world.

She's afraid she'll be horrid to him.

No matter what, she won't be horrid now. She twirls a piece of his hair around her fingers. She holds his face in her hands. She pulls herself into him and plants a kiss on his nose. Then she releases back to survey her handiwork.

Their eyes lock. The feelings between them palpable. Jack caresses her back. She wraps her arms around his neck and pulls her body up into his chest.

She can feel his hardness and her wetness. Jack nods. She slides down onto him. They stay there. Feeling each other. Being close. 

He puts his hands around her hips and pulls her closer. She arches up and then back down onto him.

He touches his forehead down onto hers and wraps his hands around her back.

Her hips rotate in slow circles. How can she want him so much, she wonders. They breathe and take their time. They receive each others caresses, their hands equally hungry to remember and be remembered.

They don't speak again for several minutes. They don't close their eyes. No guttural sounds come from their lips. They ride each other.

They make love. When its over, they embrace.

Then he leaves....but not for long.

Several hours later, he is with her in her parlor and explaining how their fugitive escaped from the hospital. The call comes about the murder at the Wren Institute of Science where he eventually mumbled something about the music of celestial spheres.

He knew it would be naive to think he wouldn't find himself in this position but he had no idea it would happen so quickly. He has just been led down a path toward some Turkish sounding music. Before he's had a chance to orient himself, Phryne starts undressing another man with her eyes.

"Oh, good." he thinks "The illustrious Osman Efendi. Just the man we were looking for."


	6. Telescope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack and Phryne head back out to the real world.
> 
> *************************************************************

"That would be lovely." Phryne accepted a cup of apple tea from an exotic looking man. Jack was doing a splendid job of maintaining his professional composure as he questioned the host about his relationship with the recently departed Quentin Tode and their escaped fugitive.

Mr. Efendi was sharing that he didn't really know Mr. Tode well but shared that "in researching the same fields and in the quest for truth, we are all companions."

"What is your area of study?" 

"Measuring the spectre of light between distant celestial bodies." Efendi responds. "Did the space between them just contract?" she wonders...

"Fascinating" she purred.

She hears Jack clearing his throat in the background and shifts the conversation back to the offending escapee. Rightfully so, Jack - that's why we are here, after all.

She thinks back to her father, who is - for all practical purposes - jailed within her parlor not only by every single member of her makeshift family but also with a number of police officers around the house. She does need to thank Jack properly for this.

The investigation continues over the course of the morning with several others at the Wren Institute. After coming to some conclusions about who will be doing what next, she returns home for an encounter with her infuriating father, who had just received a note that wasn't from her mother in England.

"Give me the letter!" 

She is worked up now. There is a madman on the loose that has killed several people. He's almost gotten to her and those she loves. She includes her father in that group. All she wants is to keep him safe overnight so that she can deliver him to the ship that will take him back to England. He's not cooperating. Again! He marches upstairs in huff and she takes off to visit the coroner's office to get information from Mac about their continuing investigation abut the death of Mr. Tode.

Her mind was racing. She needed to get these thoughts out of her mind if she was to be a capable partner in the ongoing investigation. It didn't occur to her that she was throwing her troubles onto Jack's lap.

"You need to bring in my father for questioning and you have my permission to torture him." Two sets of eyes looked at her in confusion. "Well, come on guys...keep up!" she thinks.

"I'll bring him in for a formal interview." Jack settled it quickly.

The discussion returned to the death of Mr. Tode. Poisoning, it turns out. Not sure what kind. With more questions than answers, Phryne and Jack return to the station to debrief. 

They think Mr. Tode stole Efendi's work. Motive? Maybe. Then someone brings in a very expensive looking tea pot that was found on the grounds at the Wren Institute. Phryne recognizes the missing piece and eyes the inscription. This would only be used by Turkish royalty. Phryne registers Jack's response.

"Brilliant scientist, talented musician, dashingly handsome and an Ottoman prince" he said with exasperation. "As if he could compete with you, Jack" she thinks to herself.

"And suspicious!" she adds.

They return to the Wren Institute for another discussion with Osman Efendi. This time, he admits to knowing their fugitive. A life saved in the Great War gives these two men a bond to be shared for a very long time. The two detectives don't have a name but they do have a date.

The investigation continues together until Phryne learns that her father has escaped his house arrest. 

Phryne goes home to start another investigation. On her missing father. Gaah! That man! Why can't he JUST...

She reads a letter from her mother. Her mother knows about this madman. Why haven't they shared this information with her? Phryne believes that drunkenness and dishonesty flows through her fathers veins but she wouldn't have thought he would ever risk losing Margaret. 

She knew he wouldn't. 

She hoped he wouldn't. 

Her father's love for her mother - despite all she detested about him - is the reason she allows him to remain in her life. His single redeemable quality. She can't be wrong about this. "Father, what is going on?" the thought is screaming in her head.

She can't do any more here. The police are looking for her father's escape vehicle - Bert's cab - and she's got a murder inquiry to get on with. She joins Jack at the Wren Institute but her mind keeps going over what could be happening between her parents. In the meantime, they are searching for their murder weapon: a small photoluminescent bottle. Should be easy enough to see in the dark.

Jack listens to Phryne despair about her father in a way he hadn't heard before. She's in a panic. Jack appreciates the feeling she has about her father has been mirrored by him many times in the past year or so. He doesn't need to bring this up but thinks this is an interesting development.

It has been a long day, he realizes. How many roles have they played for each over in the past 24 hours. He doesn't think he'll be able to fix this for her.

He hears himself speak "Whatever happens to your father, it's not your fault. And, nothing's going to happen." How many times has he given himself this mantra? It didn't work for him either.

She's looking up at the sky, hopelessly. He half tracks the discussion and focuses more on her mood. She spoke of railing against her father but he thinks she's also railing against herself. Is her shell softening?

From somewhere, he provides a non sequitur. "That's because you're not a telescope" 

Some part of his brain thought that statement would make sense. He has just managed to totally confuse both of them but it appears to have snapped her out of her spiraling thoughts. "Well done, Jack - how did I do that?" he wonders. 

"Is that supposed to be a complement?"

He has no idea what it was supposed to be. If he could say something else again, he knows what he wants it to be. 

"More like a romantic overture"

That got her attention. Her full attention. 

"Is that the best you can do?"

Should he risk it? He chances the invitation. 

"Would you like me to improve on it?"

Oh god, she might. She might actually...

"More than anything"

He moves slowly as if she were a frightened animal.

He slides his hand around her waist and watches her carefully. His hands are careful make only the suggestion of pulling her closer. It appears they are wiser than he in remembering that the final step belongs only to her. 

He is a magnet. "Please, Phryne..." He can't help but hope.

His breath quickens as he feels her inching closer to meet his lips. One more moment. "This is hers, man - let her do this." he reminds himself.

In slow motion, he watches as her eyes open wide and move to focus on something behind him. "Jack, behind you!"

So.

Not yet then. 

He takes a moment to compose himself.

"What the hell is in that?" They look together at the glowing blue liquid inside the bottle. She's back to being lady detective and he's trying to catch up. Again.

The night isn't over. It is back to the morgue where they learn about the nature of the poison and a return trip to the institute to try to discover where it came from. There isn't anywhere else they can take this investigation tonight.

Jack brings Phryne back home. There is no news from her father. The car remains missing, to Bert's chagrin. She looks hopeless. He can't leave her like this. They sit in her parlor and share a drink. Nothing said out loud will change things. Phryne comes to sit at his side and curls up to his chest.

"Mind if we sit like this for a bit?"

Jack responds by curling his arm around her. She starts nodding off. 

Jack wraps his other arm under Phryne's knees, holds her to his chest and stands up. He carries her upstairs and into her bedroom. Her eyes blink open and he sits her on the bed. She looks shattered, he thinks.

He bends to his knee and starts taking off her shoes. He looks up at her, concerned, and rubs her ankle. He can make her comfortable at least. He tucks her hair behind one of her ears to unclip and remove an elongated pearl earring. He does the same on the other and sets both down on her nightstand.

He starts to undress her. 

He untucks her red silk blouse from her trousers. 

He slides his hands up her torso as she raises her arms to allow the blouse over her head. 

He unsnaps her belt, undoes her buttons of her trousers and slides them down her hips. He smiles softly at the memory of undressing her so recently with his teeth. 

He lifts one leg at a time out of her trousers. 

He wraps his arms around her back to unfasten her bandeau. 

He continues looking into her eyes as he collects the straps off her shoulders and slides it off of her. 

He kneels down again to unfasten her garter from her stockings. 

He tucks his fingertips at the top of her stocking to roll the silk from her legs. 

He repeats this for the other side. He takes her hand and hints at pulling her to him so that she stands. 

He slides down her tap pants and takes off her garter belt.

"Nightdress?" He hasn't removed his eyes from her this whole time. She shakes her head. She feels raw and naked inside. It doesn't feel right to pretend to be anything else.

Jack pulls back the covers and top sheets of her bed and helps her get settled. He sweeps up her hand and kisses it. She needs something, he knows. He doesn't know what it is and has a feeling she doesn't know either. 

"Close your eyes, Phryne." He strokes her hair.

"Will you say, Jack?" That was difficult for her to ask. "For a little while?"

He watches her nibble at her lower lip and scrunch her eyebrows. He nods.

He removes his own clothes and meets her as naked as she is. He turns off the lights, gets under the covers and feels her curl up next to him. Her head tucks under his chin and their arms wrap around each other. 

Her breathing grows deeper as she drifts off to sleep. 

He remains on watch.


	7. What an ass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack stays with Phryne. Then, another day happens.
> 
> *****************************************************

Phryne's fingers are wrapped around Jack's thumb. She's whimpering. He feels her legs start to kick. She jerks herself awake. From behind her, he brushes her fringe off her forehead and strokes her head. "Shhh. Close your eyes." She wiggled back into him and let her breath get deeper.

 

*@*@*@*@*

 

"Not my fault" she squeaked. "....so mean....hate you...don't cry, mum..." She is quiet again.

 

*@*@*@*@*

 

"Show it to me....then, open it....she'll leave you...last chance....come back..." She gasps and is breathing heavy. She rolls to her back and looks over at Jack. 

"Sorry, did I wake you?"

He shook his head. "Are you alright"

"I..." her voice cracked.

He pulled her close and kissed her forehead. Her eyebrow. Her cheek. He rubbed her nose against hers.

"Nightmare?"

She nodded.

"I need..."

Jack spread tender kisses along her neck. He sucked gently on the tip of her ear. "What do you need, Phryne?" he mumbled into her ear. His breath wrapped around her like a blanket.

"I just..."

Her hands spread themselves over his chest. Her leg wrapped around his and pulled.

He rolled over her with his elbows supporting his waist. She wrapped her legs around his hips. Her body ready for him.

"This?"

Eyes wet. She nodded. She brought her hands around his neck and pulled him closer. He grabbed his cock and sunk into her. She closed her eyes and arched her chest up. He moved gently. Slowly. He didn't know how long it took but he watched as the tears that threatened to drop from her eyes transformed into something more desperate. He felt her fingers dig into his back and her legs tighten around him.

"Alright" Jack whispered. He moved his elbows up so they were resting next to her ears. He nestled his face into her neck and moved faster. He matched the pace of her hips thrusting up to meet him.

Her hands tangled themselves in his hair. She closed her hands into fists and pulled him tighter. He plowed into her over and over. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't reach her. He was trying but he couldn't.

He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her down the mattress several inches. He positioned his arms under her knees and rolled his hips so her hips were angled up and he was positioned just over them. He pressed into her urgently. She groaned and closed her eyes. 

This is what she needed. He could tell. His cock burrowed into her. He felt no hesitation, no blocks as he continue to roll his hips over her. He kept pace. He kept tension. He felt a flush growing up his chest. He paused as he held himself still just for a moment so that he could last longer for her.

She looked up at him, pleading. He took a deep breath. He rearranged his knees under her thighs to better support her. Then, he laced his fingers into her hands and anchored them above her head. He started moving more quickly and more deeply than he had before. His hips were pistons. 

"Is this still good, Phryne - is this what you need?" 

She's looking at him as if she is about to fall over a cliff and he's the only one who can save her. She's nodding. He can't tear his eyes away from her and he doesn't want to. He licks his lips and swallows hard. 

"Are you close, Phryne?" He's very much hoping that she says yes.

He watches as he face starts to contort. Her lips pull back from her teeth. Her neck arching back. He feels her breathing become erratic.

"Yes, Phryne. Let it go." 

Jack buries his head into her neck as the motion overwhelms him. He hears her cry out. They come together. His shoulders collapse together as he holds himself hard into her. He releases her hands and she wraps her arms around him. He feels her breathing into her neck.

He rolls to the side and she follows him.

With their limbs entangled, they fall asleep.

 

*@*@*@*@*

 

He wakes to find her staring at his lips. He blinks a few times and she meets his eyes with her own.

She rubs her nose against his, kisses his forehead and then rolls over.

She grabs his arm and wraps it around her like a blanket. He moves closer to her and they fall asleep.

 

*@*@*@*@*

 

Birdsong lets him know that he's awake even though his eyes are closed. The sky is gray. Its early.

He doesn't want to leave her but feels compelled to see if there is anything that happened overnight that would help to find her father.

He moves quietly in hopes of allowing her more sleep. He isn't successful.

She rolls over and looks at him. He tucks her hair behind her ear with his finger and tells her that he needs to go.

He'll call as soon as he hears anything. She'll do the same.

 

*@*@*@*@*

 

She sleeps fitfully for an hour.

 

*@*@*@*@*

 

She's awake. 

She meets Dot down stairs. Shortly after, Bert comes in to say they found the cab. Within moments, the phone rings.

It is Osman Efendi with news of a hostage. Her father! She calls Jack then races out the door.

it is another morning of going to and from the Wren Institute of Science. She finally meets up with her father, though he is being held at gun point. It may be folly but she feels as she's been through this before and has hope to get out of this soon.

And they do. There was a little bloodshed but that *is* to be expected at times, isn't it?

The blood isn't her fathers. Isn't Jack's. Isn't hers. So, it's done. 

The investigation is closed. Now, she needs some answers. Phryne and her father speak outside.

"We had money, a beautiful home, and a happy future. I owed her that. I owed it to you all." Phryne had never heard her father speak so...unselfishly. He described what had been going on, what he put her mother through. After all this, he sounds like he's just going to give up.

"Its all too late. When she meets my ship, I won't be there and our marriage will be over."

"Is that what you want?"

"Oh, God! No, Phryne. Your mother is the love of my life. I never wanted anyone else."

So, her father loves her mother as much as she thought. As much as she hoped. what a fool he was to go running away, thinking he was protecting them all. No, he wasn't a fool. He was an ass.

Well, fine. Let him prove it.

"Well, then, you better pack your bags tonight. We'll leave first thing in the morning." 

The shoe dropped.

"Oh no. I HATE flying."

"Good, then you can suffer for love."

Phryne returned to Wardlow with her father. 

She started walking up the stairs. In her head, she was planning all that had to happen before tomorrow. Before tonight! She mentally started going through the list...

She definitely wanted to spend some time with Dot. She'd hoped that someone had given her "the talk". Although she felt she helped in some way when she gave Hugh a certain book that included a special section on kissing. She secretly hoped that, perhaps, he continued to read into the remaining chapters. Oh, and they needed to get their hair done. And get her dressed. Dot was already so beautiful and so precious to her. Yes, Dot will certainly get most of her attention today.

Phryne got to the top of the stairs. 

She needed to pack. She needed to start planning her route.

She opened the door to her bedroom. Her eyes drifted to her bed. 

She needed...Jack. 

Phryne hadn't given herself a single chance to think about recent developments with Jack over the past few days. Except when she was *in* those moments, of course. 

Oh, no. How was she going to tell him that she was leaving? 

That she was leaving tomorrow?

That she hadn't thought about when she was coming back???

The last several months washed over her. Oh, Jack.

The way he carried her after she was poisoned by Foyle.  
The look in his eyes when he caught her with Compton...and when Warwick made that comment about "sanctity of the boudoir."  
The way he lunged at a fork full of gratin.  
The way he kissed her to distract her from Rene DuBois.  
The way he fucked her senseless.  
The way he held her gently.  
The way he helped her keep Jane.  
The way he hated her driving.  
The way he looked into her eyes.  
The way he made her feel equally beautiful whether she was wearing a beaded gown or a couple of ol' fans.  
The time he tried to leave her.

How many times has she mentally called Rosie an idiot for not appreciating what she had right in front of her? "Hypocrite!" she told herself. 

Phryne sat on the edge of the bed, closed her eyes, and fell backward. 

Her eyes started tearing up. And I just...took his toast. 

She bunched up her duvet in her hands and screamed aloud.

"I am such an ass!"


	8. Daytime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack learns of Phryne's plans to leave for England the next day.
> 
> ********************************************************

"Mr. Butler, would you organize a small basket of food? I need to go to the police station."

"Certainly, Miss Fisher. I was just making some ham, cheese and pickle sandwiches. I will add a few more items and bring the basked right in."

"Thank you Mr. Butler."

Phryne went into her parlor to ponder how, exactly, she would approach discussion of her trip with Jack.

"My father and I are finally bonding thanks to your help, Jack. We've decided to take a trip together." Not a chance.

How about this...

"I've decided to see a bit more of the world..." She glared out the window. She couldn't imagine anything that she could say that would be anything other than awful.

Mr. Butler entered the room with a basket of food. He looked at her with concerned eyes. "I don't know how to tell him, Mr. B...." She knew that propriety would keeping him from saying anything particularly helpful but she thought she'd give it a try.

"If you don't mind me saying so, you may want to decide soon. You see, Hugh has already left for the station and I believe he was planning on telling the Inspector about the change in plans for this evening."

Her eyes went wide. Oh NO! She grabbed the basket and made way to the Hispano. Perhaps she could get to Jack first. She drove with more urgency than panache. Phryne tried her best to appear nonchalant upon entering the station and greeted some constables warmly. She noted their hungry look as their eyes glanced down to the treasure she held on her arm. It occurred to her that Pavlov need not have experimented with dogs...though feeding dogs was likely much less expensive than feeding this lot.

Hugh was not at the desk and that was not a good sign.

She knocked on the Detective Inspectors closed door and heard only silence. She tried the handle and felt it unlatch. She peeked in around the door.

Jack was standing with his back to the door looking out the window. "Jack" she said quietly. She slipped into his office and closed the door behind her. 

He did not look at her. Nor, did he say anything. Hugh must have already spoken to him. Damn.

She placed the basket on his desk. She removed her hat pin and placed her hat on the desk as well. She walked up behind him and put her forehead between his shoulder blades. She remained for a few moments.

"Jack, look at me."

Phryne saw him briefly turn his head in her direction then returned to giving the window a dull stare. 

"Please" She placed her hand inside his elbow and gave him a gentle pull so that he'd turn around to face her. He resisted.

She waited.

"I know it doesn't always seem like it, Phryne, but I usually like your surprises." His breath rattled on the inhale.

"What have you heard, Jack?"

"I have heard that you will be leaving tomorrow for London."

"Yes, Jack. I am. I'm sorry you didn't hear it from me first."

"Me, too."

The silence felt labored.

"I don't intend on leaving forever."

"No?"

"No."

"What are your intentions, Miss Fisher?" Back to 'Miss Fisher', she noticed.

"The answer to your question hasn't resolved itself yet." She slid her arms under his.

"Then, what are your more immediate plans?"

"In order of increasing importance: I need to pack, plan my flight and walk Dot down the aisle."

The were silent for some moments more. Something shifted and she felt his shoulders relax a bit.

Jack searched his bookshelf with his eyes and removed a fairly new atlas. He took some paper, some pencils and a ruler from his desk. He glanced down at her sideways, grabbed her hand and walked with her into the empty interview room. "I can only help you with one of those things."

They sat side by side to start working through some possible routes for getting to England safely. Once they reviewed learned about the gas consumption and cruising speed of the plane, they were able to work out together how far each leg of this journey could take. The most difficult part to plan was from getting across the Timor Sea. From there, it looked as if there was several paths possible - some longer than others but, perhaps, easier to find fuel. They identified major cities and Air Force bases that were en route. 

Before long, they were weaving in stories of what they'd heard about different cities and of experiences they'd want to have if they were traveling together into the planning of her journey.

They would fly over the exploded remains of Krakatoa and make sure to stop in Sumatra to sip legendary coffee. They would indulge in Singapore Slings on the verandah at the Raffles Hotel. They would definitely ride an elephant together in Madras, look for white peacocks in Mysore and eat mangos in Bombay. They might attempt to find the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. They would stay with a sheik in Saudi Arabia, where they would be fanned by palm leaves. They might visit the Blue Mosque in Turkey. Or, perhaps they would take a more southern route to picnic near the Sphinx in Alexandra - of course they would recite Antony and Cleopatra to each other during their stay. Jack would show Phryne the Somme he had come to know. Then she would show him the France she knew. She would drag him to the Follies Bergere and perhaps get a costume made to recreate the show in private. She would take him to Stratford upon Avon, birthplace of Shakespeare. Together, they'd go punting on the Thames.

"I'd far prefer you to the travel companion I'll actually be with." That made him smile.

"I'm going to miss you, Phryne."

She leaned in close to him. "I'm going to miss you more"

They said their good byes and planned to see each other at the wedding. With that, she left for Wardlow to spend the rest of the afternoon with the beautiful bride, Dot. 

The afternoon passed too swiftly and the wedding was beautiful. Phryne was very proud of Hugh for making his amends with Father O'Leary, who had otherwise threatened to boycott the ceremony rather than performing it. The bride and groom - now, husband and wife - were clearly very in love. Phryne was pleased to see their rather public eagerness (for the two of them) to be so obvious about wanting to make a hasty exit. The reception was not only short and sweet. It ended with a dazzling shooting star.

"Oh, Jack, look!" She turned around and saw him glancing down at her. She would give anything to know what he wished for.

"Will you be home later?" she asked "Will you call tonight before you go to bed?" 

He grabbed her hand briefly and nodded.

Phryne drove home with her father, Mr. Butler and Mac, who was to help her with her packing. Before long, there were piles of clothes on her bed and the two women were discussing the merits of one item over the other. She was limited to a single trunk and an overnight case. Packing light was essential. She had several days of practical items lined up and one or two impractical but necessary outfits that would be required for events in London.

"Are you going to bring this?" Mac asked. She was holding up a bakelight container with a certain internal device invented by Marie Stopes. Phryne made a face at her, grabbed it and tucked it into her overnight bag. 

Mac then looked to the ceiling and asked: "And will you be needing this?". She pulled a card out of her pocket. On the one side it had an address and on the other the name Detective Inspector Jack Robinson. Phryne held it with both hands and took a deep breath.

"So, I was right. You didn't actually ask him for his address."

Phryne looked at her friend. "Are you going to call me an idiot?"

"Not if you beat me to it."

"I'm an idiot."

"Thank you, I know." Mac quipped. "You know, Phryne. It will take us all of 5 minutes to finish loading up your trunk. I can arrange for your truck and your father to be at the hangar tomorrow morning. 7:30am as planned. If you are nice to me, I'll even bring some coffee."

Phryne congratulates herself for having wonderful taste in friends. "Exactly how long have you known me?"

"Too long."

They finished packing and Mac sent her friend on her way to spend a last evening with a certain detective inspector before a long flight. Mac gave her one last admonition for the evening. "You will get SOME sleep, won't you?"


	9. Deferment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phryne visits Jack on the eve before her departure.

Cleopatra: If it be love indeed, tell me how much.  
(If what you feel is really love, tell me how much).

Antony: There's beggary in the love that can be reckoned.  
(It would be a pretty stingy love if it could be counted and calculated).

Cleopatra: I'll set a bourn how far to be beloved.  
(I want to measure the extent of your love, to see how far it stretches.)

Antony: Then must thou needs find out new heaven, new earth.  
(Then you would have to go beyond heaven, beyond earth.)

 

Jack looks at the photo that has been acting as a book mark. Her fingers extend out from her eyes and lips pursed comically. The tip of his finger brushes her celluloid locks. His lips curved down. A strumpet's fool, indeed.

He raises his eyes and looks around his flat. He said he would call her. What would he say? "Don't go? I need you here?" That would never do. Not for him and certainly not for her. He loosens his tie and unbuttons his top button. 

There is a knock at his door. His eyebrows furrow. Jack isn't someone who gets many house calls. Perhaps a police emergency. The distraction would be welcome.

Phryne.

He stands aside and invites her in, his last safe haven infiltrated. 

"What are you doing here?"

"I've been sent to gather golden wool." She's trying to redeem herself. He's flattered by the comparison.

"I'll make sure you don't drown" He hopes he doesn't drown either.

"You'll take my coat, then?" She slips out of shoes that he would expect to see in her bedroom. Then she unbuttons and shakes off her coat.

Jack is utterly captivated. She isn't wearing anything else. He takes her coat, reaches up to hang it on his coat rack and little attention to the fact that he misses the hook and it falls to the ground. 

He walked to her and places his hands around her waist. He bends down and speaks softly in her ear. "I should arrest you for indecency." He takes her earlobe in his teeth and pulls gently. 

"Well, that would be inhospitable of you. I thought you may not have had much of a chance to eat today. Are you hungry?"

"Ravenous."

She drapes her arms around his neck and kisses the entrance of his ear. Jack presses Phryne into the back of his door and plants kisses down her neck. He feels her hands graze along the short hair at the back of his head and forward to his face. He looks at her. She tips her head and reaches her lips towards his.

He tucks his lips between his teeth and drops his head forward. He props his hands against the door but doesn't move away from her. "Don't make any promises tonight. Please...I can't" 

"A deferment, then."

He looks up at her sideways. He has given her too much time to think about this.

"Jack, when you first...well, neither of us had any idea that plans would change so drastically."

He waited for her to continue.

"You are right. Tonight isn't a time for promises. I don't know what will happen tomorrow or the next day or the next month. Should something happen that keeps me from you, I would forever regret that I didn't take this chance to love you fully. Please, Jack - give me tonight."

She's right, he knows. Great distances beget great changes. Life changing ones. His own marriage - so sweet and satisfying before the war - disintegrated on his return. That said, he was never so broken to have regretted being a young husband in love.

Jack's index finger is lightly tapping against the door. 

And, Phryne? If she wants him - if she really wants him - she will move heaven and earth to be with him. If she doesn't...if she never came back...if she fell in love with another...well, that would only be influenced by unforeseen events. No, there is nothing to be gained with self-denial. An earlier question of hers pops into his mind.

"Are you in love with me, Phryne?"

"Unmistakably."

"I see." He felt his lips stretch into a grin.

"And you, Jack? Has your answer become any more resolved since I asked you this question?"

He nodded. "It has." He is biding his time, letting his thoughts settle.

"Are you planning to share? I'm starting to believe I may be acting a fool." Her eyes bunched in self-concern.

"Miss Fisher. I am very much in love with you."

"Ah." Her eyes melted back into Jack's gaze. "So, where does this leave us?"

Maybe it is enough, he thinks, to take every kiss in its own precious moment, never to be recreated again. Maybe promises are just folly, just misdirections to help us think that what has been created in the past can be secured in the future. His concept of fidelity as sacrosanct is in crisis. All he thought he believed in about love is on the verge of destruction. Why, does this leave him feeling audacious? He makes up his mind.

"With a brief deferment. It is approved." 

She smiled. "I'm so glad"

"You get five minutes" He teased.

Her eyes widened. "You don't dare."

"Midnight, then. Like Cinderella."

"Does this make you my prince charming?"

"Never charming, only patient. It makes me your fairy godfather, of course."

"I like the thought of you as my fairy godfather but I'd rather have you as my lover. Until morning."

"Why choose? Perhaps I can be both. Until morning, then. Perhaps, until lift-off?"

"I suspect we may get lift-off very soon. Let's not jinx it. Until I fly out of Melbourne"

"Very good." Jack cups his hands around the back of Phryne's neck. "Until you fly out of Melbourne." 

"So, you get what you want. Again." He brought his mouth close to her lips. "Now, kiss me before I change my mind" he growled.

Phryne brought her lips to his and kissed him gently. She grazed her teeth along his lower lip and flicked her tongue across his cupid's bow. Then she parted her lips to receive his tongue, which swept through her mouth and caressed the roof of her mouth behind her front teeth. Jack leaned into her and deepened the kiss. He inhaled her.

He stopped and looked into her eyes. Then his mouth descended and he fastened onto her lips. Their mouths moved together passionately. 

Jack shed his suit jacket. Phryne helped him unbutton his waistcoat and shirt. Jack pulled at his loosened tie and pulled it over his head. Phryne arched her chest into his so that he could feel her nipples against his skin. He moaned and pressed Phryne harder into the door behind her. God, he wanted her. He cupped her ass with both hands and thrust his covered length against her. The roughness of his clothing against the most sensitive part of her was bringing her to the edge. 

He couldn't wait any longer. Jack undid the fastening of his pants. He pulled out his cock and guided it straight into her. Phryne raised a leg and Jack secured it with his elbow. Phryne was greedy in accepting him. He thrust upward, not conscious of his real quest to transcend his own skin in order to fuse with her. Somewhere in his mind, he wanted to be more of a gentleman. To be more romantic. To carry her off to his bedroom in order to make love her more respectfully. It came out as a single word: "Bed"

Without exiting her body, he lifted her away from the door and closer to his body. Phryne wrapped herself tightly to him and covered his face in kisses. He crossed his living room with her in his arms and rounded the corner to start up the stairs. It was at this moment, his unfastened trousers lost the battle to friction and started sliding down his legs. Jack pressed Phryne into the wall as he levered off his shoes and maneuvered himself out of his fallen trousers and underpants. He thrust into a few more times. He couldn't help himself. He just couldn't.

"Bed" he said aloud again, as if he needed to remind himself, and carried her up 4 or 5 more stairs.

Phryne was devouring Jack with her lips. She loved seeing him like this. He was completely mussed. She looked over his shoulder to glance at the trail of discarded clothing. Her fingers raked his scalp. She pushed her side against the wall to provide herself some ballast to the effect that Jack's knee buckled, landing him sitting on the 6th stair and her squatting above him. 

Jack rested his torso onto the stairs above him and released head back to catch his breath. She reached up above him to start crawling up the staircase. Her knee made contact with the step his head was resting on. He looked over to see a drop of liquid traveling down her thigh. He leaned over to capture the errant bead and continued the trail to kiss the most intimate part of her. 

"Bed, Jack" as she strived to continue crawling up the stairs. He grabbed her leg and pulled it over his head so that she was astride him. He reached up to lick her. Again she tried to pull herself away to continue up the stairs. "Come on, Jack."

He firmly grabbed her hips and anchored his mouth to her sex, demanding she stay right there. He gulped at her in frenzied motion, then penetrated her with his tongue. He extended into her as far as he could reach. He sucked on her clitoris. The gentleness of touch that he wanted to give her was a memory.

Phryne, for her part, has astonished with the amount of passion Jack was showing. She loved to use the word "ravage" when describing to a lover what they were about to experience. But this! This was reshaping her understanding of that that was or could be. She was, for the first time in her life, being truly ravaged. She felt Jack pull her hips down to impale her on his cock. He had placed his feet directly on a step below him so that every penetration brought his hips up with the full force of his legs and her onto him with the full force of his arms. Each time they met came with the sound of wet slapping of his hips against hers. 

Phryne tried to brace herself with a hand against the wall. She felt her breasts bouncing with each thrust. She grabbed at her nipple with her free hand. She pulled at herself hard, feeling the edge between pain and pleasure that the rest of her was being subjected to. She felt herself start to come and willed Jack to slow down so that she could fully feel this.

He was lost, however. He couldn't stop. He couldn't slow down even if he wanted to. He was in the midst of a second awakening. A surrender so complete that he was unconscious of the world around him. 

Phryne looked down at him in midst of her continued jostling. "Where was he", she wondered. His experience so powerful that it was sweeping her away a second time. He opened his eyes and saw her, chest flushed. Mouth parted. The look in her eyes had so much love. How could he have doubted?

He heard her sob. The sound jerked his release into her. "Oh god, Phryne. Oh god" he cried out. He pressed his hips up into her one last time and held himself there. She could feel his legs vibrate then spasm.

Jack released his hands from her hips and wrapped his arms around her body to bring her closer. She felt his body relax and she leaned forward to kiss him gently. 

"I'm so in love with you, Phryne." She felt his mouth open to her as she kissed him deeply. 

"I'm so in love with you more, Jack". She smiled into his lips and kissed him several more times.

"Bed, Jack?"

He pondered her a minute and gave her a rather fiendish look.

"No, Phryne. Shower."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation of Antony and Cleopatra (for us, like me that need assistance and don't want to wait for it) is provided by the ever handy sparknotes: http://nfs.sparknotes.com/antony-and-cleopatra/page_2.html
> 
> The golden wool comment is in reference to Psyche's 2nd trial from by Venus (Eros' mother) as restitution for enchanting, then trapping, her son into what she considers a sham marriage. She is to capture golden wool from sheep owned by the Sun but Psyche's intention is to drown herself in the river separating her from the sheep. 
> 
> Personally, I like the metaphor balance to those evoked with Antony and Cleopatra, the latter being more similar to the original Phryne.


	10. Flight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, you *do* know how this part of the story has to end. Here's how it happens.
> 
> For NOW...
> 
> **********************************************************************

"Shall I wash your hair, Jack?"

His mouth had latched on to her breast and he was suckling it gently. 

"Please." He got to his knees and continued to kiss her torso and rub his nose into her belly. He looked up at her adoringly. "Do what you wish, Miss Fisher." Then continued to kiss and caress her.

Phryne opened the bottle of shampoo, pored some into her hands and spread her hands over his head. She used her fingertips to massage little circles into his scalp first on the sides of his head and then onto the top, where his hair was longer. She brushed her palm over his forehead to keep the soap from running into his face. She watched him close his eyes and lean into her hip. She glided her hands behind his ears to massage his neck and the short hair at the back of his head. She let her fingernails graze his scalp lightly as she pulled her hands over each other, letting them travel back to the top of his head. 

He tended to the crease in her hip with an open mouthed kiss. Then his kisses traveled to her inner thigh.

She moved a little to her right to allow the spray from the shower wash over the top of his head. She lifted up at his hair to help the water rinse away the suds.

Jack lifted her leg over his shoulder. 

She leaned back against the tile. 

He administered soft tongued kisses to her inner lips. She felt his tongue rotate underneath them to separate and gently tug each side, one at a time. He slowly ran his full tongue along the length of her slit then went back to mouthing at her lips. 

Phryne closed her eyes and rested one hand on Jack's shoulder, the other pressing into the tile behind her. 

He brushed his lips over her clit. His head moved side to side with pointed tongue. He was taking his time now. Savoring her the way he wanted to do before. He lapped at her lips then took her into his mouth, tongue moving in lazy circles. He sucked at her gently, pulled his head away before releasing her. Her lips snapped back. 

She felt one of his hands snake up her torso and up to her breast. His open palm hovered over her soft nipple. He used the base of his palm push up her flesh and curled his fingers to brush over her nipple. He stroked her in lazy eights. 

She smiled as she thought of him during those early encounters. Despite his gruff exterior, she had sensed something about him that invited her in. He'd surprised her even then. "It would be a tactical error to think you have me pegged just yet, Miss Fisher". He continues to surprise her. What a superb man. Apparently this is so obvious that her best friend, who limits her sex life to include sapphic experiences, would choose him had she been required to take a lover of the opposite sex.

His tongue penetrated her. She felt a swell of warmth flow from inside of her. Her eyes flickered as she looked up to the ceiling. 

Jack sat back on his heels and used his hands to indicate she should turn around to face the tiles. This won him a lascivious glance. His eyebrows popped up and he continued to turn her until her back was to him. She placed her hands against the tile and walked them down as she felt her hips being pulled back. Her torso was now parallel to the ground.

His tongue scooped from the top of her clit, over her lips and then into her. Oh...what a difference a little change in position brings. He pulses his tongue in and out of her. He captures her whole sex with his mouth again and drinks her down. She drops her chin to her chest and pushes out her breath.

The steam from the shower is warming her to her bones. She feels sweat drip from her back down the outside of her leg.

Jack reaches out with his tongue to rub her clit back and forth. She groans. What a lovely, lovely man. He grazes her with his teeth. He percusses her quickly with the tip of his tongue. She feels his hands splay, one on each buttock, cleaving her more open. He pulses at her more quickly now, reading her swollen lips as a sign of her imminent orgasm. 

Ooooohhhh. She feels it wash over her. Beautiful release.

She says for a moment longer and feels increased pressure from Jack's hands. He is standing now. "How did he do that?" she wonders. Stealthy man.

She feels him running the tip of his cock in small circles at her opening. Her head is going to explode. He feels wonderful.

He presses his palm against the base of her spine as he slowly glides himself in. This time, he isn't rushed. His movements are fluid. His hands run up the length of her spine as he eases out of her. His fingers wrap around her shoulders as he presses in once more. Delectable man.

His hands are free to caress her neck. Her waist. He cups her breasts and fondles her nipples. All while rocking his hips to bring himself in and out of her. This constant swaying. He's the shore - she thinks - and she is the water lapping at him. He guides her onto him and she pulls him back. She is the undertow. "Come to me, Jack." she thinks to herself.

His fingertip finds the top of her cunt. He circles with the gentlest of touches then presses firmly. His finger bears down on her with each thrust. She feels his other palm back on the base of her spine. She presses against the wall to experience this pressure more fully. His thrusts become faster.

They are going under together. She feels herself swept away. Her cunt begins to flutter. She feels him spasm inside of her. A wail emerges from chest. Her eyebrows contracted and lips pulled away from her teeth. Her entire body shudders. "Jack!" She jaw drops and she squeezes her eyes shut. 

Phryne hears his jagged breath from behind her. He withdraws. She stands. She turns around to face him. She wraps her arm around his head. He kisses her intensely. Devotedly. Amazing man.

"Phryne" his face close to hers.

She looks up at him.

"You need to sleep."

She licks her lips and nods.

They each step under the shower nozzle to rinse off before Jack turns off the water. He grabs a towel and wraps her in it, giving her a bear hug at the same time. He gently dries her off starting with her hair, dabbing gently at her face then with soft strokes over her body to the bottoms of her feet.

She leans against his sink and watch him quickly dry himself off more quickly and more roughly. She watches as he scours his hair with a towel. He stops to look at her. He is chewing in the lower corner of his lip. He breaks out into a huge smile.

She smiles back.

He grabs her hand and walks her into his bedroom. He pulls the covers up and helps Phryne get under the sheets. He tucks her in then squats by the side of the bed to kiss her gently.

She screws up her eyes at him. "I can't believe you..." She isn't sure how to ask him. She is overwhelmed with his ability to love her as she is. To meet her where she is.

He smiles at her. "Wait here a moment."

He leaves the room and comes back with a book. I'll read something to you as you go to sleep.

He flashes her the title. Her eyes go wide.

"Lady Chatterly's Lover! Jack, as a former special constable of the Victorian police force, I'm certain that I'll have to arrest you..."

He grins and chuckles. He turns on the reading lamp on his side of the bed before turning off the main light and getting under the covers with her.

"Close your eyes, Phryne"

As she drifts asleep, she hears him read to her.

"“It's no good trying to get rid of your own aloneness. You've got to stick to it all your life. Only at times, at times, the gap will be filled in. At times! But you have to wait for the times. Accept your own aloneness and stick to it, all your life. And then accept the times when the gap is filled in, when they come. But they've got to come. You can't force them.” 

Jack looks down at Phryne. She looks content, he thinks. He grabs his travel clock and makes sure to set the alarm at an hour that he can make her some breakfast before her long day tomorrow. It is almost midnight now. He hopes that 7 hours of sleep will be enough to get her to Adelaide safely.

He turns off the light and curls up next to her. 2 words float into his head as he drifts off to sleep. Lucky man.

 

 

*@*@*@*@*

 

 

She wakes. She looks at Jack and thinks he looks content. She leans into him gently, trying not to move the bed too much. She presses her lips into his and kisses him lovingly.

He smiles and stretches his body like a cat "Phryne...."

No, he didn't wake up. She continued to watch up smile in his sleep. She liked the thought that her kisses might leave him kissed long after she leaves. 

She eases out of bed. Stealth, she reminded herself. His clock reads 6:30. She softly exhaled. Time to go.

She looked around his room and realized that all of her things are downstairs. She padded out of his room and softly closed the door.

She is smiling broadly and she descends the staircase. She will have fond memories of the 6th stair in particular for some time to come.

She looks around his living room and sees her coat on the floor. Another smile.

She picks up her overnight case from next to the door where she dropped it last night. She takes it over to the couch and starts to get dressed. Jack's copy of Antony and Cleopatra catches her eye.

The bookmark keeps his page at Act 1, Scene 1. She had never seen it before. Didn't even realize that Hugh had taken the photo. She takes a pen out of her bag and writes a quick note on the back of it. She applies a coat of her trademark red lipstick and kisses the corner of her note. She props the photo on top of the book and against his reading lamp.

She finishes getting dressed. She pins her blue enameled swallow to attach her scarf to her overcoat before gathering the rest of her belongings and quietly leaving Jack's house.

 

 

*@*@*@*@*

 

 

Jack wakes with his alarm.

She's gone!

He touches the sheets where she slept. Cold. Oh, no!

Jumps out of bed. Can he still catch her. Quick wash. He throws on clothes. Slicks pomade into his hair. Wait...he thinks...this isn't important.

Jack bounds downstairs. Her photo catches his eye. He turns it over and reads.

"How could they not realize it needs to be measured in kisses? Heaven and earth are infinitely small in comparison. I meant every one.

Madly, deeply in love with you.

Your, Phryne" 

Jack rushed out the door, realizing he would do anything for just one more of her kisses. He sped to the air field, praying he wouldn't miss her. He drove onto the field just as she's calling out her command: "Contact!"

Please let her see him. She does!

She climbs out of the plane and comes running to him. 

He greets her. He can't believe he made it. It takes him a second to calm his mind. He glances at her plane.

"Flying all the way to England in that?"

"It's the only way I can make sure he'll get there"

He father is yelling something at her. Jack looks back at Phryne. He wants to say something but...

"Come after me."

"What did you say?"

"It was a romantic overture."

"Say it again."

"Come after me, Jack Robinson."

Jack grabbed her hand and pulled her into his lips. He held one hand against the back of her head and used the other to pull her closer by the waist. They kissed passionately. Completely.

"I always feared another man would sweep you away from me. I never thought it would be your father."

She smiled back at him. "There's a whole world out there, Jack! He's the least of your worries."

She ran back to her plane, climbed aboard and flew away.

He breathes out. The end of the deferment makes him acutely aware of the worries he should have about the whole world that is out there. He thought about the D.H Lawrence he read to her last night. It had sounded so wise earlier this week. Now he isn't so sure.

Jack stops and looks to the sky. "Fuck aloneness."

 

 

On the other side of the air field and, not part of Jack's attention, are 2 figures standing by 2 cars. One of the car is a Hispano Suiza. After witnessing this scene, one of the observers speaks.

"Well, Mr. B - I think we can say that we've done some good work here."

"I would have to agree with you, Dr. MacMillan."

"Care to place a small wager on who goes after who?"

"Ah, that is a wager I don't believe I can afford to take."

"But you will be eager to watch it play out, won't you?"

"Indeed, I will. Until soon, then?" Mr. Butler tipped his hat toward the lady doctor. He got in the stunning red car to return it to his ladyship's home.

"I give it 24 hours. We'll hear from one of them..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading to the end of my first complete fan fiction. It has been a week of a super-fun ridiculous smutfest. By all means, please share any comments or inspiration for perhaps taking this story further!


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